


Squirrel Girl's Exciting New York Adventure with Awesome Team-Ups!

by wolfy_writing



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Genre: Comics meets TV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-16 03:47:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10563066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfy_writing/pseuds/wolfy_writing
Summary: Set after S2.  Daredevil discovers a new crime-fighter on the streets of New York City





	

It was a hot July night. Matt sat on the rooftop, sorting through the noises of the city. He could hear traffic and shouting. A drug deal, about two miles away. Too far for him to stop in time, too far for it to be worth chasing. There was a drunken argument on the next block. A man and woman shouting on who cheated on who. Matt braced himself, in case it escalated.

Footsteps behind him, fast and light. Matt grabbed his club and turned.

“Hi! Are you a hero, too? This is so cool!”

In front of Matt stood a girl, about fifteen by Matt’s best guess, and behind her…fur? A column of fur? Some sort of animal? 

“I’m the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl! What’s your name?”

“Unbeatable?” Matt asked. The fur was…stuck to her backside? Did she have a _tail_? Something smelled like cheap fake fur, but something else smelled real, and the fur moved like it was alive.

“Never been beaten yet!”, said Squirrel Girl. “So you’re…Goat-Man? The Red Goat? Can you talk to goats?” she asked, her voice bursting with excitement. “Do you have a goat sidekick who helps you with awesome kicking skills?

“I’m…Daredevil” Matt said hesitantly.

There was a long pause, and then a deflated “Okay. I’m not sure if they have red goats anyway. So what do we do?” she asked, the enthusiasm creeping back into her voice. “Keep an eye out for people in trouble?”

“I do,” said Matt. “You go home. This job isn’t for kids.”

“Don’t worry about me, pard, I’m rough and I’m tough!”

“Pard?” Matt asked. 

“Pardner. You know because we’re going to be awesome crimefighting partners?” Next to her, a squirrel chittered.

Squirrel Girl chittered back at it. “I was just letting Monkey Joe here know that he’s always my awesome crimefighting partner, but I figure you can have more than one. Right? I bet you have lots of crime-fighting buddies.”

“No. Please go home. I can’t protect you.”

“Don’t worry about me. I have backup!” She gestures towards the squirrel.

Matt was trying to think of a response, when he heard shouting below. “Give me all of your money! All of it! The safe too! I will shoot you!” Someone decided to rob convenience store, right below him. He looped one end of his club around a sturdy-looking pipe, and rappelled down the building.

Squirrel Girl scampered straight down the bricks, at incredible speed. By the time he it the ground, she was already charging in the door. “I’ve come to kick butts and eat nuts, and I’m all out of nuts! Seriously, once I’ve stopped this robbery, do you have a bag of peanuts or something? I have money in my belt!”

Matt heard a gunshot as he charged in the door, but he couldn’t smell blood. Everyone was upright, except for something warm and alive all over the floor. He sniffed. Squirrels everywhere! He moved to kick the gun away, but it was already being carried away by the squirrels.

He’d been three blocks away when Thor, Norse God of Thunder had leapt from the sky and smashed a space alien with a hammer, and this was _still_ the weirdest day of Matt Murdock’s life.

The thief yanked an angry squirrel from his face, and bolted for the door. Matt tried to follow, but Squirrel Girl was faster and her tail was in his way. By the time he made it out, a car engine was starting.

There was a confusing sound, and Matt made it out the door. He stood there for several seconds, tilting his head, trying to make sense of what he was sensing.

The car was still running. But Squirrel Girl was holding it over her heard.

“Um, what am I supposed to do now? Do I have to carry it all of the way to the police station, or do the police come to me? Because I was really hoping I could stop in and get a packet of nuts tonight. Crime-fighting is hungry work!”

“I’ll call the police,” said Matt. “How long can you hold it up?”

“I don’t know. Maybe half an hour? I’m really strong!”

Matt stepped into the store. “Call the police.” After a moment, he added, “Can I get a packet of nuts? I don’t have any cash on me, but I think she does.”

“It’s for the lady with the tail?” asked the clerk. His voice sounded warm. “Don’t worry about it. My treat. Tell her thank you.”

—

“That was really nice of him,” said Squirrel Girl, sitting on a rooftop and munching through the nuts. “I get so hungry crime-fighting. I don’t usually run this much or lift anything that heavy back home. My mom won’t let me lift the car over my head unless we’re out camping or something where there are no people around. She’s worried the neighbors might see. Do you carry snacks? Is this a crime-fighter thing I should know about?”

“I don’t bring snacks,” said Matt. “But I don’t have super-strength.”

“Really?” asked Squirrel Girl. “How do you punch bad guys so well?”

“Practice.”

“That’s cool. Do you have powers?”

“Heightened sense,” said Matt, after a moment’s hesitation. It was probably good to keep her talking, see what he could find out. Maybe he could learn how to get her to go home and stop charging headfirst into armed robberies. 

Plus, he’d never met anyone with powers before.

“So you stand on rooftops watching for crimes?”

“Mostly listening,” said Matt. “It’s easier to hear through walls than to see through them.” 

“You can hear through walls?” Her mouth fell open, dropping nut crumbs onto her lap. “That is so cool! I have special squirrel senses, but that’s mostly really good peripheral vision! Also being able to smell nuts from half a mile away!” She paused and tilted her head. “Do you have super-smell? I sort of do, but it’s really only for food.”

A squirrel came scampering up, carrying something heavy. It dropped it in front of Matt, the echo revealing it was his billy club.

“Monkey Joe brought you back your stick,” said Squirrel Girl. “How were you going to get it back?”

“I was going to go back for it.” It was his first time rappelling down a building, and he hadn’t really thought about how he’d get the club back until after he was already on the ground.

“This is why you and I should be partners!” said Squirrel Girl excitedly. “Monkey Joe and I can do all kinds of useful things together!”

“You could get hurt,” said Matt. “The man today, he had a gun. You could have been shot.” 

“Don’t worry, I’m fast.”

“Your accent,” said Matt. “Canadian?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Do you know how much crime there is in Greater Sudbury? None! How am I supposed to learn to fight crime if I have nowhere to practice! I bet you’d stopped a bunch of crimes by the time you were my age!”

“No, I didn't even start until after college.” 

“Really? Monkey Joe says I’m good at being a hero for my age, but I don’t know. He’s kind of biased, because he’s my best friend, and sometimes he gets confused about how age works for humans.” There was fabric rustling as she dug into her pocket, then the click of a ballpoint, and the sound of writing. She tore a piece of paper off a spiral notepad, folded it, and handed it to Matt. 

“What is it?” Matt unfolded it and pointed his face at it to look like he was reading it. He might be able to trace the pen-strokes later, with his gloves off.

“My Twitter handle.” There was a hesitance in her voice, like she wasn’t saying something. “Um, you could tell me yours, and I could write it down and hit you up? That might be easier.”

“I don’t use Twitter.” Matt folded the paper up and tucked it into the top of his boot. He should have thought of putting pockets on this thing. “Where are you staying?” he asked, trying to change the subject. “Did your family move down here?”

“No, I’m just here for the summer. This is my adventure! I sleep in a tree in Central Park! Monkey Joe and I found a really good one, and there are always a few squirrels around to keep an eye out.”

A teenage girl sleeping up a tree in Central Park. He had to do something. “You can’t do this, Squirrel Girl. You could get hurt.”

“I told you! I’m rough and tough!”

“I know, but that’s not always enough! I’m an adult and I still get hurt!”

“No offense,” said Squirrel Girl, “but I kind of have better powers? Like you seem to be great at crime-listening, but did you see…I lifted a car!”

“Are you bulletproof?”

“I told you, I’m fast!”

“Bullets are faster, trust me. Look, if you need any help getting back to Canada…”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve got a plan. I’ve been saving for this all year, and I have enough for food and a bus ticket back before the next school year.”

In the distance, Matt heard a scream, and a loud impact, slightly softened.

Fists pounding into flesh.

“What’s up, pard?” Squirrel Girl asked. “More crime?”

“I’ll handle this one myself. Please just go home.”

—

“Fine.” Matt spoke on the phone to Karen. “Last night was fine. Weird. No, not bad weird. No, I’m fine. Really. I promise. Nothing like that. There was this kid.” He toyed with the slip of paper. He was going to pull up Twitter later. “She wanted to do what I do, but…”

There was a tinkle of broken glass, and Matt turned. 

Then something sharp hit him in the neck.

He grasped it and pulled it out. A tranquilizer dart. From the building across the street. 

The phone slipped from his fingers. His knees buckled.

Fight, he thought, fight, dammit! But there was no one to fight. They were waiting for him to pass out.

“Karen…” he managed to gasp out, before losing consciousness. 

—

“Matt?” Karen called, fumbling with the keys. “Matt, are you in there?” She unlocked the door. “If you’ve hurt Matt, I should warn you, I have a gun.” She yanked the door open.

The apartment was empty. No sign of Matt.

The living room window was wide open. Karen could see a shattered pane of glass.

On the floor lay his cell phone, a tranquilizer dart, and a scrap of paper.

Karen picked up the paper.

_@unbeatablesg_

A Twitter account. Probably a clue. She pulled out her phone and was about to check it when she got a call.

“Karen Page.” The voice was electronically distorted.

“Yes?”

“I know you are in communication with the superhero known as Daredevil. Tell him to meet me at the warehouse on Sixty-Third and Fourth at midnight tonight if you want Matt Murdock back in one piece. Do not call the police. We will know, and he will die.”

“Wait!” called Karen, but the caller hung up.

—

Foggy burst in, out of breath. “What happened to Matt?”

“He’s been kidnapped.” Karen held up the tranquilizer dart. “They drugged him.”

Foggy looked wildly around the room. “Was it ninjas?”

“No.” Karen frowned. “I don’t think so. Someone called me. They kidnapped Matt as leverage against me. They said they wanted me to send them Daredevil, or they’d send Matt back to me in pieces.”

“Seriously?” Foggy ran his hand through his hair. “Is it possible to laugh, cry, and scream at the same time?”

“Foggy, listen. I found a clue.” Karen held up a piece of paper. “This was on the floor.”

Foggy took it. “This was obviously not written by Matt. Or for him. Think it was the kidnappers?”

“I don’t know.” Karen pulled out her phone. “It’s someone called the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. She’s twitter friends with Tony Stark.”

Foggy let out a low whistle. “Iron Man himself? Doesn’t sound like she’s a kidnapper.”

“I guess we’ll find out.” Karen looked up. “I told her to meet us here.”

—

Squirrel Girl perched on the open windowsill. She was a kid. An actual kid, with a furry jacket and little fake squirrel ears She was accompanied by a small squirrel that scampered around, sniffing the air.

And she had a giant fluffy tail. It was not fake.

Foggy had thought finding out his best friend was fighting an army of ninjas was ridiculous, but this was a whole new standard.

“My…friend, Matt Murdock, was kidnapped.” Karen held up the paper. “I found this on the floor, and I thought you might know something.”

The kid took the paper and examined it. She looked up. “Does he know Daredevil?”

“What?” Karen asked. 

“I gave this to Daredevil,” the kid said. “We fought crime together, and I wanted us to be twitter buddies, like me and Iron Man.”

Foggy’s brain tried to wrap its head around Matt in his devil suit fighting crime alongside some bouncy kid with a big fluffy tail, and immediately gave up.

“You said he was kidnapped?” asked Squirrel Girl.

“Yes.” Karen swallowed. “They kidnapped him to get to me. They think I can contact Daredevil.”

“Can you?”

Karen looked at Foggy, then back at the kid. “No.”

“Too bad,” said the kid. “That would be an awesome team-up! I love getting to partner with other heroes! Did you call the police?”

“No,” said Karen. “They said they’d kill him if I did.”

“Right. Did they tell you where to go?”

“Sixty-third and Fourth.”

“Okay,” said the kid. “I’ll go rescue your friend.”

“What?” shouted Foggy. “No offense, but how old are you?”

“Eighteen!” said Squirrel Girl brightly.

Foggy gave her a hard stare. 

“Sixteen?” she offered. “Don’t worry about it, I’m unbeatable.” She scampered out the window.

Foggy looked at Karen. “Did we just send a high school girl to fight kidnappers?”

Karen bit her lip. “I’m worried. I know Matt’s faced worse, but if they drugged him…”

Foggy sighed. “I might have an option. There’s this P.I. Jeri Hogarth knows. Jessica Jones, the one who claimed that guy had mind control powers? She’s really strong, and she’s handled some weird shit.”

“She’ll help?” Karen asked.

“For the right amount.” Foggy pulled out his phone. “It’s worth a try. We can’t leave Matt on his own.”

—

Matt woke up feeling groggy. He was tied to a chair. Ropes, not chains. The knot was right over his wrist, in reaching distance of his fingers.

Amateurs. Or possibly just people who didn’t expect any trouble keeping a blind man. 

Matt suppressed a grin. Either way, they were about to learn a very painful lesson.

He started working on the ropes. Four kidnappers stood about ten feet off, talking to each other in a small cluster, under what felt like a hot bulb. The echo of the building felt like an empty warehouse. Plenty of space to move.

“What if he doesn’t show?” one of the men asked.

“He will. And then…” The man made an explosion sound with his mouth. “Blow the devil back to Hell.”

“And this guy?” 

“That’s the beauty of it,” said the explosion-sound guy. “He’s blind, he can’t ID us. No dead hostage, only casualty is a vigilante, how hard do you think the cops are going to look?”

Behind Matt, a rat scurried quietly up the chair leg. Matt suppressed a yelp, and tried to shake it off.

The brush of tail fur against Matt’s wrist told him it wasn’t a rat, it was a squirrel. It climbed on top of the knots, and began gnawing.

—

“Did you find him?” asked Squirrel Girl.

“Yes,” said Monkey Joe. “He’s tied to a chair in the middle of the warehouse. He was trying to untie himself. I left Hazel in charge. You know how good she is at chewing. He should be free in no time. The scouts from the other warehouse, where they’re expecting Daredevil, say it’s rigged with explosives. I've already got them gnawing through the wires.”

“Good thinking! Have them keep an eye out for Daredevil. If they see him, grab his ankle and start trying to drag him away. I’ll burst in as soon as Hazel has the knots chewed through, and while I’m fighting the bad guys, you can lead Mr. Murdock to safety!” Squirrel Girl started digging in her utility belt. “I’ll make a little sign that says ‘Follow this Squirrel’ so he knows.”

“Um, he’s blind,” said Monkey Joe.

“Who, Mr. Murdock?” Squirrel Girl frowned. “And he probably doesn’t automatically follow the sound of squirrels. Most people are weird like that. We need a new plan.” Squirrel Girl reached into her pouch and pulled out a nut. “You know, it was a really good idea to bring snacks. It helps me think while planning.” She pulled out another nut and passed it to Monkey Joe. “I should probably learn to write in Braille. A girl in school is blind and writes in Braille, and she has this little clamp thing that fits onto a notebook. It looks small enough to fit in the belt.”

Monkey Joe nibbled thoughtfully. “I don’t think you have time to learn tonight.”

“True.” Squirrel Girl finished her nut. “Okay, new plan. Once he’s untied, I charge in and attack until the kidnappers are distracted, then you and the team go in all squirrel swarm! That will distract them, and I can lead Mr. Murdock to safety!”

Several crashing noises came from inside the warehouse, and some pained shouts.

Squirrel Girl jumped towards the window. “New plan, attack right now!”

—

Inside the warehouse was very dark. Squirrel Girl could hear grunts and shuffling. She dashed towards it. 

One man stood next to a chair, fighting two other people. Two more people were trying to get to him, but he kept the people he was fighting in the way, so they couldn’t fight effectively. Squirrel Girl caught a glimpse of red sunglasses.

One of the men in the back reached for a gun. Squirrel Girl whipped him with the tail and then kicked the gun away. Chompsky grabbed the gun in his mouth and took it out of reach of the humans.

Squirrel Girl grabbed the second kidnapper and threw him straight up in the air until he bounced off the roof. Then she caught him and threw him at the first kidnapper. Squirrel Girl then rushed up towards the fight and grabbed one of the kidnappers from behind, and flung him across the warehouse. The man in the red sunglasses knocked the last kidnapper unconscious.

Squirrel Girl turned to the man in red sunglasses. “Please tell me you’re Mr. Murdock.”

The man in the sunglasses turned towards her, and for a moment, Squirrel Girl thought she’d made a mistake. Then he smiled. “Matt Murdock. And you are?”

“The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl! I’m here to rescue you! Although you don’t look like you need it.” 

Monkey Joe tugged on her pant leg. It’s him. He’s the one who was tied up. Let’s get out of here!”

“Should we tie up the bad guys for the police?”

“No, get the kidnapping victim to safety first!”

Squirrel Girl nodded. “Okay, Mr. Murdock, we have to get out here. Do you want to take my arm, or…”

“I can follow your voice. Let’s go.”

—

They were about three blocks away when a car pulled to a screeching halt next to them. “You, with the tail. Squirrel Girl?”

“You have a tail?” asked Mr. Murdock.

Squirrel Girl turned and saw a dark-haired woman in a leather jacket in the driver’s seat. “That’s me!” said Squirrel Girl. “Who are you?” She paused. “Are you a kidnapper? Because if you are, I’m warning you…”

“Relax, kid. Foggy Nelson sent me. Name is Jones. He said for you to go home, I’ll rescue Matt Murdock.”

Behind Squirrel Girl, Mr. Murdock chuckled. “I think she beat you to it.”

Ms. Jones peered out and caught a glimpse of Mr. Murdock’s red sunglasses. “You’re him? Nice. Easiest five hundred bucks I ever made. Get in.”

Squirrel Girl opened the door. 

“Not you,” said Ms. Jones. “Nelson only said Murdock.”

“I’m not letting you take him unless I can go too,” said Squirrel Girl. “If you’re trying to trick me, I need to go with him so I can fight our way out!”

Ms. Jones looked for a moment, then shrugged. “Fine. Whatever. Everyone get in.”

Squirrel Girl slid into the back seat, and made room for Mr. Murdock. “Thank you! This is awesome, I rescued someone!” She buckled her seatbelt just before Ms. Jones peeled away. “I was just thinking that our team could use someone who could drive. I mean you’d think that if you could lift a car, you’d be allowed to drive one, but no!”

Ms. Jones glanced at Squirrel Girl in the mirror. “You can lift a car? How old are you?”

“Sixteen!”

“No, really.”

“Fourteen.” Squirrel Girl sighed. “Nearly fifteen, though!”

“And how long have you been able to lift a car?” Ms. Jones seemed more interested in Squirrel Girl than the road.

“I’ve only been able to lift it over my head for about a year now. I’ve been able to lift it off the ground since I was eleven. Why?”

“No reason.” Ms. Jones focused on the road.

—

Matt barely made it in the door before Karen hugged him breathless. “I was so worried!” She clung to him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” 

Foggy approached. There was an awkward moment, then some sort of tension dropped out of Foggy’s body, and he wrapped his arms around Matt. “You’ve got to stop doing this so often!”

There was a cough. “This is all very sweet,” said Ms. Jones, “But I still get paid, right?”

Foggy let go. “Yes. Of course. A check okay?”

“Fine. Make it out to Alias investigation.”

There was the sound of writing and a check being torn out.

“Thanks. I’ll see you around.” And with her boots clicking on the floor, Ms. Jones walked out.

“You paid her five hundred dollars to rescue me?” Matt asked when she was out of earshot.

“You’d been hit by a tranquilizer dart! Was I supposed to just _assume_ you could fight your way out?”

There was a discreet cough from Karen.

Foggy paused for a moment, then continued. “I know your self-defense class for blind people went really well, but that’s different from escaping actual kidnappers!”

“It’s okay,” said Squirrel Girl. “I know. I just didn’t know you knew, so I didn’t want to say anything.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Matt, keeping his voice calm.

“Your secret identity!” Squirrel Girl exclaimed. “I didn’t want to give it away, but I figured it out, and it was really hard to not say anything, and I’m so glad you told your friends, because then I can talk about it!”

“Secret identity?” Matt asked, trying to sound puzzled.

“You’re Daredevil! I mean I wondered after I wrote the note for Daredevil and you had it, plus you’re blind and Daredevil’s blind…”

“Daredevil’s blind?” Matt’s skeptical voice didn’t even sound convincing to himself. “Believe me, I wish it was possible to do all of that while blind, but…”

‘’You have super-senses! You told me when we were up on the roof and I told you about my squirrel senses!”

Foggy was doing an increasingly terrible job of suppressing laughter. 

“Anyway,” said Squirrel Girl, “I gave you the note, and you unfolded and pretended to read it, but the writing was on the wrong side. So I figured you - Daredevil you - couldn’t see very well. Then you - Mr. Murdock you - turned out to also be awesome at fighting! Plus you had my note, and all of you were talking around some big secret you all knew about how you could fight your way out of things that you didn’t want to say in front of me.” She took a breath. “I promise I won’t tell anyone else.”

“She got you, Matt!” Foggy was nearly doubled over with laughter. “She got you fair and square!” He walked over and patted Squirrel Girl on the shoulder. “Can I get you anything as a thank you? Both for saving my best friend and for the funniest moment of my life?”

“Justice is its own reward.” There was some back-and-forth chittering. “Although Monkey Joe wouldn’t say no to some peanut butter.”

“I’ll get you all the peanut butter you want.”

—

The next morning, Matt set up a Twitter account. He sent a quick message, opened his window, then waited.

She showed up about one hour later. “Hello, Mr. Murdock, you said you wanted my help?”

“Yes. Please come in. Sit down.” Matt pulled out his laptop. “I’d like your help with something. A missing child. Doreen Green fro Ontario, Canada?” He opened the laptop and hoped he’d been able to scroll correctly to the portion with the photo.

From Squirrel Girl’s breathing, he had.

“She’s been missing for about a week now. Her mother, thinks she might have gone to New York. Her parents are worried.”

There was a hitch in Squirrel Girl’s breath, like she was trying not to cry. “I left a note! I just wanted to go have a real adventure! I didn’t want to hurt anyone! Well bad guys, but even then, I mainly want to stop bad guys, not hurt them!” She swallowed. “Are my parents really worried?”

“I’m sure they are,” said Matt. “They love you. They worry. Having a family who loves you is really something special. It’s easy to take it for granted when you’re a kid, but if you know what it’s like to not have it…” He stopped himself. “There will be more opportunities for adventure, especially with your…unique abilities.”

“I asked Iron Man on Twitter, and he said he didn’t start until he was forty,” she said thoughtfully. “And he said I should go home and finish high school before starting to fight crime.”

The squirrel, Monkey Joe, chittered.

Squirrel Girl moved her head. “Monkey Joe also thinks I should go home. He says it’s going to rain soon, and it’s a lot less fun to sleep in a tree when it’s rainy.”

“That’s a good point,” said Matt, trying not to think about how he’d just agreed with a squirrel.

There was a silence, then Squirrel Girl asked, “Mr. Murdock, can I borrow your phone?”

Matt pulled out his phone. “No problem.”

—

Several minutes later, Squirrel Girl was wiping her eyes, but her voice sounded happy. “Thank you. My mom…she was worried. She said she’s taking the next flight down to meet me and bring me home.”

Matt smiled. “That’s great.”

“She also made me promise not to scare her like that. How do you be a hero without making people who love you worried?”

Matt swallowed. “That’s a tricky one. But it gets easier when you get older,” he lied. “Are you hungry? I can get some takeout.”

“Do you know a place that does falafel?” asked Squirrel Girl…Doreen. “I had some last week, and it’s amazing!”

“I think that can be arranged.”

**Author's Note:**

> I reinterpreted Squirrel Girl for the MCU. I decided to write her younger, with her original best squirrel friend, Monkey Joe. Written before the Defenders came out, so a lot of guessing about how precisely the post-S2 dynamics would shake out.


End file.
